John Whaley is Founder and CEO of UnifyID. He is a renowned expert in digital security with over 15 years of experience in the field. Prior to UnifyID, he was the Founder and CTO of Moka5, a desktop virtualization company. Before that he worked at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center and Tokyo Research Lab on static program analysis and just-in-time compilation. He was also a Visiting Lecturer in Computer Science at Stanford University.

John received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Science from MIT and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University, where he won the Arthur L. Samuel Thesis Award for Best Doctoral Thesis.

Why did you decide to volunteer with the MITCNC?

I’ve been attending events for the last few years and have got a lot out of it, both personally and professionally. I saw an opportunity to help to better leverage data and technology to better connect members with each other and with activities and opportunities that are most relevant to them. Here in Northern California we have the largest MIT community outside of Cambridge, and we have a huge potential to have a big impact.

Tell us a bit about your role with the MITCNC. What are your responsibilities in this position?

We want to use data and technology to increase the strength of our tribe and our community. We work behind the scenes on programs, events, and communications to make them more valuable and relevant to Northern California alumni.

What exciting things can we expect to see from your area of focus in the coming months? (e.g., social events, speakers, etc.)

Improvements on our online presence (website, email correspondence, social networks), improved payment/checkout process, more streamlined event handling and followup, and better targeting of relevant opportunities to our members.

Describe one of your most memorable MIT moments.

Going back to MIT 7 years after graduation and interviewing for a faculty position with some of the Professors who taught my intro classes (6.001, 6.002, 6.004). During one interview, one Professor took a dusty binder off the shelf and looked up my grade in his class.